One flew out of the cockatiel cage: WestJet crew escorts Vancouver escapee to YYT

A Newfoundland woman who lost an exotic bird in the rafters of Vancouver International Airport is forever grateful to WestJet staff for going above and beyond to catch her pet and see it safely across the country.

I couldn't believe that people could be so helpful.- Ebru Ozerkan

Ever since her previous pet cockatiel died, Ebru Ozerkan, a doctor from St. John's, has been looking to purchase another bird.

So when Ozerkan had to travel to a medical conference in Vancouver last week, she decided to look for a replacement there as none are available in Newfoundland.

While in B.C., she purchased a pair of cockatiels — two brothers — but the cage Ozerkan was given by the breeder wasn't permitted on the return flight home. Instead, she bought a travel case at the airport to shuttle her precious pets back to St. John's.

"They are very friendly, very nice and close to humans," she told the St. John's Morning Show. 

"They can be very nice pets that you can cuddle with."

Free as a bird

But while Ozerkan was transferring the birds into their new cage, one bolted. She said one bird remained in the cage at her feet, while the other sat high up in the rafters of Vancouver International Airport.

Before that point, the sibling birds had never been apart and, according to Ozerkan, both went wild with what she believes was separation anxiety. The bird that remained in the cage was so worked up, Ozerkan worried it would hurt itself trying to escape.

"The one that was left with me was crazy to go to the other one," she said. "So it was constant yelling and screaming and the other one was constant screaming. So they were talking to each other — screaming to each other."

Operation Rescue Jet

Ozerkan, who was set to board a WestJet flight, and said the airline's staff and guest manager immediately sprang into action, discussing options for catching the bird. 

They rescheduled Ozerkan's flight home for the next morning as she waited to see if the bird would swoop down on its own, but that never happened. 

"I stayed in the airport watching these two birds all night long," she said.

While Ozerkan eventually boarded a flight back to Newfoundland with just one bird in tow, WestJet staff didn't give up.

She said they continued to keep a watchful eye on the little bird in the rafters. Two days later, Ozerkan got a call from WesJet staff who said the bird had been caught and was on its way home. 

The moment of opportunity, she said, came when the cockatiel tried to fly out the front door of the airport. That's when a quick-thinking employee picked up a bin used for carry-on baggage measurement, and safely trapped the bird inside.

"Everybody was very interested and supportive. I couldn't believe that people could be so helpful"

WestJet purchased another travel case for the bird and had cabin crews with two separate flights escort him all the way back to Newfoundland. Ozerkan said staff even googled what to feed the cockatiel, buying vegetables for him and making sure he had fresh drinking water for the journey home.

Ozerkan later found out the crew even named the bird. 

"They called him Jet," she said — a name Ozerkan plans to keep.

"The bird was here from Vancouver to St. John's in six hours. Even a person couldn't get here that fast."